Fund Managers Face Off
Over New Asset Classes

LONDON -- A new push to redefine shares in the world's largest multinational corporations as a separate asset class has ignited a firestorm of controversy.

Slicing and dicing financial markets into more digestible pieces called asset classes is a time-honored pastime. First came the basic division between stocks, bonds and cash, as money managers sought to simultaneously enhance returns and cut risk by strategically dividing a portfolio among these assets. Since then, investment gurus have proposed subdividing stocks into...